


Pfeffernüsse

by Sinclairchap



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, Pre-Canon, Reinhardt: The Ultimate Babysitting Machine, i wrote this real quick, this is non-shippy but i guess it be ana/reinhardt if you want, young Fareeha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-12 12:53:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7935265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinclairchap/pseuds/Sinclairchap
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Ana is away on a long distance mission, Reinhardt looks after 6-year-old Fareeha. Hijinks ensue. </p><p>Featuring gratuitous fluff and my favourite German food.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When Mother's Away

**Author's Note:**

> It has been many a year since I studied German properly. However, I think I remember most of it. If you spot a mistake in my German, feel free to point it out.
> 
> the HTML is being weird so the italics aren't working in some parts.
> 
> P.S. as a note, "Call me if you need me, don't need me." Is what my mum used to say if she went out, a lot of this is gonna be based on or referencing my childhood and how i was as a child. So, yeah.

Ana Amari couldn’t thank anyone enough for the blessing of a man named Reinhardt Wilhelm, and how good he is with children.

Including, no, _especially ___her child, little six-year-old Fareeha. Ana watched on, smiling, as Reinhardt lifted his arm again and again while leaning heavily on his right leg, with Fareeha hanging on tightly and giggling. They were in Reinhardt’s small but practical assigned house, not too far from the Overwatch base. It had two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom and front room. Much better than the barracks lower-ranking Overwatch agents bunked in. Ah, the perks of rank.

Many people, mostly those who didn’t really _know_ Reinhardt, were surprised how much he liked children. Even more were surprised by how much children liked _him_. It was somewhat understandable, she supposed, Reinhardt was well-known for his love of ‘glorious combat’, and his less than gentle friendly back-slapping. 

___Ana had known from the moment she told her team she was pregnant, the way Reinhardt’s eyes had lit up, how he gently touched her abdomen after asking, sincerely congratulating her on the achievement of creating life._ _ _

___Although, she had had to quite firm in say no to naming her child ‘Harimanna’, ‘Baldhart’ or ‘Gunther’. Reinhardt had sulked for days, although he would deny it fiercely. At least he didn’t suggest ‘Reinhardt II’._ _ _

___Now, with her child born and baring a proper, _elegant_ name, Reinhardt took to caring for her as determinedly as he took to everything else, if a little _eccentric._ _ _ _

_____This was lucky, since it was hard to find a babysitter or au pair that was both competent and not an assassin for when her missions took her out of the country for long periods of time._ _ _ _ _

_____Reinhardt, whose armor had been hit hard in the leg last mission collapsing it into his left thigh, was in recovery for the duration of her current mission. It wasn’t a terrible injury, a large deep bruise but the bone thankfully intact, but the armor needed repairs and being in the armor while injured would cause more harm than good. It was quite serendipitous, injury aside. It left him open to watch Fareeha, which did not often get to do, much to his disappointment._ _ _ _ _

_____He would look after her, Ana knew, to his dying breath if need be._ _ _ _ _

_____Ana shook her head, still smiling, “Now, Reinhardt,” Ana said sternly, “You know you cannot feed her only German sweets and ginger biscuits.”_ _ _ _ _

_____“Ah, but Ana!” Reinhardt boomed with gusto, as usual, “ _Everybody_ loves Pfeffernüsse!” _ _ _ _ _

______“Not every day, they don’t. Fareeha, eat your vegetables.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Fareeha’s face fell as she made the high-pitched groan of a disappointed child, still hanging from Reinhardt’s arm._ _ _ _ _ _

______Ana sighed, no doubt in her mind Reinhardt would spoil her daughter. She put down Fareeha’s bag, full of clothes and toiletries and foam dart guns. She hoisted her own, smaller bag and her rifle case higher up her shoulders._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Be good for Uncle Reinhardt. Do as he says, but not as he does. Brush your teeth, brush your hair. Do the reading I gave you. If you need help with something and you can’t find Reinhardt, talk to Uncle Jack. Eat something that came from the earth once and awhile._ _ _ _ _ _

______Reinhardt, take care of Fareeha. Try to set a good example, and try to stay off your leg, yes?” She gave them a look, a _take care of yourselves_ look, but scarier, more of a _take care of yourselves, or else_ , look. _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Ja, Ana.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Yes, mama.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________They spoke in sync, both trying to look innocent and responsible. They both looked equally ridiculous._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________They would be fine._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I am leaving now. Fareeha, come give mama a kiss.” Ana said, squatting down, arms out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Fareeha finally dropped from Reinhardt’s arm and ran towards her mother, practically crashing into her to hug her. Ana wrapped her arms around her daughter tightly, before taking her young face in her hands and kissing her forehead. Fareeha’s face scrunched up, but she returned the kiss to her mother’s cheek._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________With a final salute to Reinhardt, she turned to leave, “Call me if you need me,” she looked back at them, “Don’t need me.” She said wryly, but fondly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________With that she left, the chorus of farewells following her out. Time for work._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Back in the small house, Reinhardt looked down at Fareeha, “Do you want some Pfeffernüsse, Mäuschen?” He asked with a wink._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Fareeha grinned widely up at him, showing off her missing tooth._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“ _Ja_ , Herr Reinhardt!” She said proudly, careful with the pronunciation._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Wunderbar! You have been practicing your German!” He clasped his hands joyfully, “We will make a fluent speaker out of you yet. Now let’s go get that Pfeffernüsse.” He took her hand, barley able to reach down that far, and hobbled with his bad leg to the kitchen._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Does your leg hurt much, Uncle Rein?” Fareeha asked with concern in her young voice._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Nein, Mäuschen, I am fine,” He said with a smile, “It’ll take much more to bring down _this_ Crusader!” He pounded a fist on his chest proudly. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Fareeha smiled, and climbed her way up a tall stool to sit at the kitchen bench, “Can we have some Perffufferss now?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Ha, it is _Pfeffernüsse_ , Fareeha.” _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________“That’s what I said!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________Reinhardt huffed a fond laugh, “Yes, you can have some ginger biscuits now, child.” He got the jar down from the shelf and opened the lid, offering some to Fareeha._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________Fareeha took one, and thanked Reinhardt very politely, as her mother had taught her, before taking a huge bite of the iced ginger biscuit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________Reinhardt took one for himself and sat heavily on the stool besides Fareeha, groaning and holding his leg._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________Fareeha looked up at him, chewing her biscuit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________“Okay, maybe my leg is a _little_ sore,” Reinhardt admitted, somewhat reluctantly, “so I guess _you_ shall have to carry me, Mäuschen.” He said cheekily. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________Wide-eyed, Fareeha gaped at him, taking in his huge form, before swallowing her Pfeffernüsse and steeling herself, “I will do my best, Uncle Rein.” She said seriously, with a nod of her head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________Reinhardt exploded into uproarious laughter, slapping the bench top in lieu of the small girls back, “Ah, child, so much like your mother.” He wiped an eye, “Have another biscuit, Fareeha.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_____________Sometimes her Uncle Rein confused her, so different from her mother or any of the other adults she knows, but that was why she liked him so much. He could be a little loud, and often said things she didn’t understand, even when it wasn’t German, but she felt safe with him, and he was so much fun._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________And_ he gave her biscuits._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________She didn’t much like it, when her mother goes away for so long, so frequently, but it was definitely better when Reinhardt watched her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. Paper Hats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i got a few more chapters planned, but i'll take prompts. You got an idea for Reinhardt and Fareeha? Send it my way. Also tell me what you think, is Reinhardt in character, is Fareeha actually acting like a six year old, is the pacing rushed, etc.?

All too soon, they ran out of Pfeffernüsse. Reinhardt assured her he knew how to make more, so Fareeha didn’t mind too much.

“Well,” Reinhardt said, putting the empty jar aside, “It’s still early. We shall have to think of something else to do, ja?” He looked thoughtful for a moment, “What do little girls your age like to do?”

Fareeha shrugged, Uncle Rein’s house was different to her and mama’s, there wasn’t a garden here to play in.

“Ah. Well, let’s see, what did I do as a tyke?” He stroked his beard in thought, muttering to himself, “No, you need snow for that… Hm, no Ana would kill me if I let you do that…” After a few more moments of thinking, his eyes lit up, “I know just the thing!”

He stood and limped to his bedroom, Fareeha hopping down from her seat to follow. She stopped just outside the door, watching Reinhardt look for something in the closet of his room, “I’m sure I have some left… Ah ha!” Withdrawing from the closet, Fareeha saw he was holding a brightly coloured roll of paper. It was red, and had little yellow stars on it. 

“Wrapping paper?” Fareeha asked, confused. 

“Ja!” Reinhardt waved the roll of paper at her excitedly. 

“Uncle Rein,” Fareeha said solemnly, shaking her head, “It’s not my birthday.” 

Something about what she said seemed to tickle Reinhardt, who threw his head back in his loud, boisterous laugh, “No,” he huffed, “it is not. Come, you shall see!” He made his way out of the room, beckoning her along.

Still confused, she followed him, hoping things would make more sense soon. 

She reached the front room and stood waiting, Reinhardt was in the kitchen, she could hear him looking through draws. “What are we doing?” She called to him. 

“You will see!” He called back in a sing-song. 

When he came back into the front room, he had scissors and tape with him. Bending down, he placed his gathered supplies on the low coffee table before carefully lowering himself to the ground next to it, mindful of his leg. Looking at her and seeing her confusion clear on her face, he gestured for her to do the same, smiling at her.

Now having joined the large German on the floor, Fareeha was still confused. There was nothing to wrap. She gave Reinhardt the most skeptical look her tiny face could manage, craning her neck to do so. Even sitting, Reinhardt towered over her. 

“Don’t give me that look, Mäuschen, I promise this will make sense!" 

Fareeha’s look only intensified. 

“Granted,” Reinhardt conceded, “When I was young we would do this with newspaper, but good luck finding that now days! Ha!” 

Gosh, old people could be confusing, “What’s that?”

“What’s what? Newspaper?” 

Fareeha nodded, eager to know the answer. 

Reinhardt thought for a moment, “You have seen newsfeeds, ja? On computers screens and holo devices?” 

Fareeha nodded again. Her mama often read through the newsfeeds. 

“It was like that, but printed on big sheets of paper and delivered to your door.” Reinhardt spoke with his hands, holding them apart to show the size of the papers. 

Fareeha nodded, slower this time, thoughtfully, “That seems wasteful." 

Reinhardt laughed again, “Ja, ja, it was a bit. I was going out of style when I was your age, only a few companies still printed, but my parents were somewhat traditional.” He held up the wrapping paper, “But that matters not! This will do nicely!" 

With that, Reinhardt finally explained they were making ‘newspaper hats’, or rather ‘wrapping paper hats’. He didn’t seem to mind the difference. Fareeha wasn’t too sure how the paper would make a hat, perhaps it was similar to the paper planes an older child once showed her? 

Reinhardt took her through the steps, showing her how much paper she would need and even letting her cut it herself. She was careful with the scissors, cutting as straight as she could. The edge still came out a little wonky, but Reinhardt assured her it would just give her hat character. 

“Now, Mäuschen, you must fold it in half, like so.” He demonstrated on his own sheet of brightly coloured paper. 

Fareeha copied him as best she could, tongue out for extra focus as she tried to make the wonky edges meet with clumsy, six-year-old hands. 

They reached the final step and Reinhardt secured their hats with the tape so they wouldn’t unfold on their heads.  
“There, the perfect summer accessory.” Reinhardt said, opening her hat and placing it gently on her head, “Beautiful!” 

Fareeha giggled and adjusted her new, very stylish, hat. 

“Me too, ja?” He said as he deftly placed his own bright hat upon his head, “Fashion of the season, don’t you think?” He lifted his head proudly, showing off his paper hat. 

Fareeha giggled again, “You look silly, Uncle Rein!” 

Reinhardt clutched his chest dramatically, gasping, “You wound me, Fareeha! Right here,” He tapped his chest, over his heart, “Such a viscous tongue for such a small girl.” He waggled a finger at her, winking. 

Fareeha outright laughed at him, rocking back in mirth, making her hat fall off. She turned and picked it up, holding it in front of her, studying it, “These look like pirate hats, Uncle Rein.” She said, holding the hat up to show him. 

“I suppose they do,” Reinhardt lifted his hat and brought it down in a flourishing bow, “Captain Amari.” 

The grin on Fareeha’s face as she jammed her red, star-speckled hat back on her head could have powered a whole battalion of Crusaders. 

The rest of the afternoon and into the evening saw Reinhardt as both First Mate and the actual ship, carrying Fareeha around the house as she ‘steered’ the boat, spinning increasingly wild tales of conquering rival ships, fighting sea monster and, at one point, saving a damsel in distress who looked an awful lot like a couch cushion. 

Finally, it was the end of Fareeha’s first day staying with Reinhardt. She was yawning and dozing off in his arms, so he carried her to the spare bedroom. 

Pulling back the fresh sheets he put on the bed that morning, he lay Fareeha down gently, pulling off her shoes and picking up the paper hat from where it fell. He tucked her in, hung the hat on the bed post and when back out for Fareeha’s bag where it was still by the front door. Quietly, Reinhardt put the bad near Fareeha’s bed, so she could find it in the morning. Maybe tomorrow she would actually get to wear the pajamas Ana packed to sleep. 

Entering his own room, Reinhardt prepared to sleep. Ah, children. So full of youthful energy. Few things could wipe a man out faster than entertaining a child for a day. 

He pulled off his own -now slightly crumpled- hat, placing it on his bedside table. He groaned as he sat to remove his shoes, today had not been easy on his still sore, swollen leg. He should have listened to Ana. 

Reinhardt lay back, hoping for uninterrupted sleep this night. He would need his rest to do it all again tomorrow. 


End file.
